family....visit our website at siouxland matters dot com. to find out how. tim: buena vista county authwrities have identified the two people killed in a two vehicle accident near newell last night. 19 year old juan hurtado and 46 year old maria gaitan were both from newell. thier vehicle collided head on with another vehicle on highway 7 near the raccoon river bridge west of newell. 27 year old alex spielman and a 7 year old child were both in the second vehicle and were treated and released from storm lake hospital. a cause for the accident has not been degtermined. tim: a des moines police officer says he "accidentally" fired his seseice weapon inside the s moines airport wednesday. 23 year old officer brady pratt said he drew his weapon from his holster to practice his "quick draw" skills. thats according to a police report. he "unknowingly had his finger on the trigger and discharged a round into the ceiling tile." no one was injured due to the

tim: ahead of christmas, republicans continue to go on the offensive and rally support after a controversial cartoon used one candidates children to make a political point. abc's bazi kanani is in washington with more. "==bazi on cam intro== the washington post says the cartoon was posted witut an editor's approval, but ted cruz says it is proof of media bias. script: ted cruz now hitting back... after the washington post ran this editorial cartoon online depicting cruz's two daughters as trained monkeys. (sot cruz) "not much ticks me off, but making fun of my girls, that will do it." thoonist was critizing cruz for this christmas- themed political ad. (nats holiday ad) "the grinch who lost her emails" the candidate... enlisting his young girls in an attack on hillary clinton. (nats holiday ad. girl reads)

own server and nobody w w whe wiser." (cruz) in kindergarten we learn you don't hit girls. it's not complicated. don't make fun of a five year old girl and seven year old girl. backing him up. (gfx) on twitter, marco "disgusting." and jeb bush defended cruz on fox news. (sot trump) it's one thing to talk about your children, but it's another the depicted. this is absolutely cruz is right to be e the washington post controversial cartoon-- (gfx) saying it is the post's policy "to leave children out of it"-- but not before cruz forwarded the offending graphic to supporters in a fundraising appeal: (gfx) saying it "shows exactly how desperate the liberal media is to attack and destroy me (and my family)" ==baz on cam tag== the presidential candidates are taking a break from the campaign trail for the christmas holiday, but donald trump is not taking a break from twitter-- going after hillary clinton in a series of tweets. " tim: for most, christmas means time with the family.... but some siouxland folks are enjoying a family tradition of

well by returnign to some sioux city classics. placesesike milwaukee weiner house to palalr candy companan are everyday favoritetefor folks in siouxity. but for folks who have moved away.... and only get back home for the holidays..... checking out one of the "old" favorites is as much a part of christmas as the egg nog and mistle toe. owners of milwaukee wiener say holiday time is the busiest time of the year. coming up tongith at ten, hear from customers who made it a point to continue this christmas tradition on christmas eve day,. tim: crowds are fillign the streets ini another part of downtown. sunnybrook community church is hosting it's annual christmas eve at the orpheum services with three services this year. abc9's bria bell has more. bria: tim, people are excited to hear the gospel this evening as long lines formed outside the dooror of the orphium. . pastst jeff moes says that the church wants to spread a good message and that anyone and

sunnybrook is taking a unique approach to its christmas service as it is hosted in a theater rather than an actual church. the pastor says the gospel will be demonstrated through vaous acts and in front people from all over. "so we do it in a very contemporary fashion, there's going to be music, there's going to be drums...guitars. there's going to be skits that are kind of fun and funny and then there's a message based on the word of god," said pastor moes. sunnybrook expects to see just over six thousand people as well as a high traffic through its online streaming service.bria: a link to the service can be found online on our website at siouxland matters dot com. live in studio, bria bell abc 9 news. tim: young and old.... folks are spreading holiday cheer. jill kasparie with our affiliate in cedar rapids explains how an 82 year old man is handing out good tidings. ""hey dad, hello there.e.ello hello!" russell is used to his routine with

but tuesday night it was obvious -- things are a bit different. "with christmas a couple days away what better of a night. " it is the night russell has waited for - for a year. "christmas was passed lat year. i couldn't make christmas come back and i had to wait until this christmas. " the 82-year-old says last christmas his daughter - rusty holub - put lights in his window and he thought one just wasn't enough. "he said wouldn't it be awesome to light every window in this building and that's - i just took it from there." russell still has the first box of lights from his daughter. and after that - from donation to volunteers - many worked to get lights up each one of the 363 windows on the building. "when they turned the lights on, moment, it was a dream come true. i loved it. " "it really touched my heart to see people

summit point they couldn't wait to celebrate his dream come true tonight with bus trips for a man who's always thinking of others and sharing hugs -- this night is all about russell. "he's the type of guy who no matter how bad he's feeling or having a rough day he makes sure to open the door for you." now, russell gets to make it part of his routine to enj this holiday dream come true. "these are his lights and his pride and joy. " "i like them, i love them. to me it's been a lot of work for a lot of people and i want to appreciate it." " tim: good news for kids all across siouxland.... the u-s

waiving its usual permit fees... allolong santa's reininer to fly withtht charge. the permit allows all nine reindeer to enter a a exit the united states -- quote -- "through or over any northern border port." they must do so between 6 p-m tonight and 6 a-m christmas morning. the "movement permit" is filed through the u-s- d-a's animal and plant health inspection service. costs associated with inspection and overtime fees have also been waived. the u-s-d-a's chief veterinary officer says the department wants to do everything in its power to help santa make his deliveries. tim: if it's christmas eve santa claus is flying around the world. and norad is trking his every move. norad stands for north american aerospace defense command. every christmas, hundreds of volunteers field calls from children around the world asking when santa will arrive. it's a tradition that started -- by

when a sears ad with santa asked kids to call him, but printed the wrong number. kids who called reached a top- secret government line. the colonel who answered was surprised when a tiny voice asked for santa. he decided to go with it... and a 60-year tradition was launched. " i can let you know that he'll be at your house probably between 9 o-clock and midnight tonight. but he'll only leave presents if you're asleep. if you're awake, he will come back but he'll only leave presents if you're sleeping . " in 20-13, the norad santa tracker team got more than 117-thousand calls in 23 hours --a record. still to come... if you've already

fred: (fred) chirstmas day rain and snow are possible. cooler next week. it's time for local news that matters! " " fred: tim: (tim)

and snowvision shows that the heaviest snow fell in the south and the east. omaha had over 6" in spots! the national satellite and radar shows our snow from this morning moving ea, and a front along the eastern us that produced a lot of severe storms. in fact, in the past 24 hours there have been 14 tornado reports and 51 reports of

total reports. here a picture of tornado damage to a road yesterday in misssippi! meanwhile, there is widespread flooding in atlanta. look at the melting snow on the port neal welding company skycam hd from the ho chunk cenene in sioux city. the high today was 33 and t t low 27. 32 is r sioux city temperature. local temperatures are in the upper 20s and lower 30s. winds are light and variable. wind chills are in the 20s for mot gbut we have some teens and single digits in the east. the satellite and radar shows quiet weather to our west for now. but be aware that areas north and west of siouxland will have more snow tomorow and early saturday. that's where we find winter weather advisories in light blue (which includes lyon county in iowa,

dakota, and the sioux falls metro. farther west is a winter storm warning in yellow. the stormcast hd shows the next round of snow, maybe mixed with some rain, mainly across the north late tomorrow and into early saturday. quiet weather is expected during the day saturday and into sunday. the snow forecast shows less than 0.5" of accumulation for most of us, but 1-4" across the north. the low tonight will be 18 with clearing skies. tomorrow, look for a high of 39 and a chance of rain and snow. the 7-day shows breezy winds saturday and 37. cooler weather will come next week with highs in the 20s and a slight chance of snow late in the day monday. the abc9/countryside senior living santa tracker shows santa flying over the skies of paris! we'll have updates

evening. tim: jenna: (tim) thanks! and snowvision shows that the heaviest snow fell in the south and the east. omaha had over 6" in spots! the national satellite and radar shows our snow from this morning moving east, and a front along the eastern us that produced a lot of severe storms. ininact, in the past 24 hour there have been 14 tornado reports and 51 reports of wind damage, with 75 total reports. here's a picture of tornado damage to a road yesterday in mississippi! meanwhile, there is widespread flooding in atlanta. look at the melting snow on the port neal welding company skycam hd from the

today was 33 and the low 27. 32 is our sioux city temperature. local temperatures are in the upper 20s and lower 30s. winds are light and variable. wind chills are in the 20s for mot gbut we have some teens and single digits in the east. the satellite and radar shows quiet weather to our west for now. but be aware that areas north and west of siouxland will have more snow tomorow and early saturday. that's where we find winter weather advisories in light blue (which includes lyon county in iowa, if you're a parent you may want to buy you child the hottest new but new research they could have a your developing child. with more, here's abc news senior medical contbutor dr. timothy johnson. they beep and glow store window in claim educational benefits for your child. kids love them. but to reach for good

instead? and the reason is language development. researchers at northern arizona university conducted a study of 26 young children and their parents? finding that playtime with traditional toys and books promoted rich communicative interactions between parents and infants, while sessions with electronic toys resulted in far less verbal communication, and conversations that were less meaningful. and believe it or not, parents themselves also spoke less frequently when they and their tots used electronic toys? which means fewer words for the children to recognize and learn. this was a small study? and it's true that some electronic toys are educational. but all in all, it looks like toys that don't speak for themselves? may lead to a chattier playtime session. with this medical minute, i'm dr. timothy johnson

the city of bethlehem is the centerpiece of the christmas story, however people there are having a tough time celebrating this year. we'll take you there, after this. tim:

taken on a somber tone as residents there deal with violence. abc's molly hunter has more from the middle east. " nats up - parade, procession action sot mai awada, bethlehem: "it's a mixed feeling between the celebration and the sad feeling." that sad feeling - shared widely this year - after months of violence in the occupied palestinianan territories and isisel - leaving nearly 2 dozen israelis and more than 130 palestinians dead - israel says more than half of those were attackers. in manger square today, the birth place of jesus - the crowds smaller, tourism suffering - people say they've never seen it like this - mh s/u: "as celebrations kick off in bethlehem - christmas arrives at a more somber time this year - here and across the middle east, christians are fleeing persecution across iraq and syria." sot barghouti: "but at the same time there is a certain feeling of resilience - people insist to celebrate christmas - sends a message a hope that we christians, muslims,

here." chyron: dr. mustafa barghouti, paleleinian mp resilience and optimism - says natalie sot natalie, jerusalem q: are you going to celebrate more this year because of the tension, because of the violence? a: true. the only way you fight war is by happiness. and by peace. and peace is created by happiness. and by music. and by everything." "merry christmas." mh, abc news, bethlehem " after the break... we'll have the heartwarming story of a little girl giving back to heartwarming story of a little girl giving back to kids who are going through a struggle she knows all too well. tim:

shapes and sizes. t for one omaha girl, giving back top kids just like her is what this holiday is about. lastear, nine year old grace jansen was diagnosed with lukemia. this christmas

hospital, but to hand out 300 gifts she helped purchase for other kids. omaha reporter alexandra stone has more. "i knew there were going to be alot but not this much," said grace jansen. grace spent last christmas in the hospital herself. "it's juts not home," said grace. this year she is home with family. but grace wanted to do something for other kids who cant be home with family for christmas. she raised about $2,000 on a go fund me page to buy all these gifts. "i wanted them to know that when they are stuck in thehe feeling good, we felling like," said the joy is contageious. kids stiopping by to take a toy adn say thanks. ea toy topped "grace doesnt like bugs adn this lady her leg but she didnt flick it off. the next day we found out she has cancer and when we got into the hospital romm it was like this lady bug and was crawling on

that lady bug now a sign for the family. "we've had a lot of ups and downs and just to be able to share that there is hope," added grace's mother. and as the rain changes to snow out side, the jansen's hope is that joy can be fouou all around tim: fred's back next

skies. tomorrow, look for a high of 39 and a chance of rain and snow with the highest acculations in the north. the 7-day shows breezy winds saturday and 37. cooler weather will come next week with highs in the 20s and a slig chance of snow late in the day monday " " " " coming up tonight

tonight, that tornado outbreak wreaking havoc over the

destruction in several states.